Leaf turner



Sept. 11, 1928. w 1,684,043

G. E. MEYER LEAF TURNER Filed'April 16, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 G. E. Meyer G. E. MEYER- LEAF TURNER Sept. 11, 1928.

Filed April 16, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Snneutoz w a h Patented Sept. 11, 1928.

UNITED STATES.

ngrave E. MEYER, on NEW ivinanows, IDA O.

LEAF TURNER.

Application filed April 16, 1926;. Serial No. 102,547;

This invention relates, to leaf turners whereby the. leaves of a musical composition may be rapidly turned without requiring a stoppage in the rendition of the compo sition. The primary object of the inven tion is to provide means whereby the leaves may ber'eturned" to the normal or initial position in'the event that apart of the coinposition is to be repeated, and a further object of the invention is to pro'v'id'e means for holding the leaves off a musical composition against dis flacement'byi possible air currents which mechanismmay be adjusted to the heights of various music sheets or leaves. The invention is illustrated'in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter fully set forth; I

In the drawings: a 1 Figure 1 is a front elevation of a leaf turner embodying my 7 present impr'ovements; 1 y p f Fig. 2 is azrea'r elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof; Fig. 4. is ah enlarged detail bottom plan View with parts in section on the line M of Fig. 1'; Fig. 5' is-an enlarged detail section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged lin'e 6'6 of Fig. 1;

. Fig. 7 is an enlarged 77 of Fig.1. 1 v ,7

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a base plate "1' which is adapted to be clamped to the railQ of apiano desk ormay form a part of a music stanth In the present (l1"21;W1HgS,I have shown a clanipe ing element 3 adapted to engagethe rail'Q and be secured by a set-screw 4, a tongue or hook .5beingprovided at the front end of the clamp to supportthe'base plate and detail section. on'the detail on the line thevparts carried thereby; At the back of the base plate 1 .is a back plate 6 against which the lower portions of the sheets of music or'hack of a book may rest whilebe: ing supported onthe basefiplate 1. Secured to this back plate 6. and rising therefrom near the ends thereof, are standards 7 which may conveniently be flat bars fittechatthe'ir lower ends in sockets 8 on ,the rear of the back plate 6 a'ndvhaving their upper ends engaged through keepers or sleeves 9 at the ends of an upper bar 10 which is thereby heldto the standardsan'd-may be shifted vertically relative thereto. The hooks 5 engage invthe lowerends of the sockets 8, as shown in Fig. 7. The barlO is constructed with notches or openings 11 in its end edges to permit access to the lower free ends of latches 12 which may conveniently be resilient plates secu'red'at their upper ends upon the bar 10 andhaving' their lower free ends projecting downwardly beyond the upper walls of the said openingsor notches 1 1, asshown in Figs. 1 and 6. Near their lower ends, the latches 12 carry lugs or pins 13 which are adapted to project thro'ugh'openingsld provided therefor in the bar lO'a-nd engage in a selected one of a series of sockets .15 provided in the front side of the respectively adjacent standards 7. The bar may thus beset at' any desired height from the base plate 1 and back plate 6 and the device thereby adjusted ItO accommodate music leaves, or sheets of variousvertieal dimensions. 1 r i q Upon the front side of the top bar or plate 10 at the center thereof is secured a pintleor post 16, the accompanying drawings showing said post asfbeing fitted inbrackets 01 supportingplates 17 at its upper and lower ends whereby it will be held in spaced relation 7 to the top plate or bar. Rotatably mounted uponthe post or pintle; .16 are .a pluralitybfleaf turning arms 18 anduase sociatedwitlrth'e post and each turning arm is'aspring 19 having its ends engaged with the bar 10 and withtherespective turning arm with its. intermediate portion coiled aroundthe post or pintle so that, when'the EHHXJS swung to the right in Fig.1, the re spective spring will he'place'd-under tension and will tend constantly to move the arm to the opposite sideof the device; To hold the' turning arms 18 at'the right side of the/device, as will benecessai'y oiidinarilv at. the

start ofa'i'enditioin'l provide a plui ality of hooks 2O which-are pivotally mounted upon the bar 10 and extend rearwardly through OPGDlHgS. 21 proi-ided therefor in-the bar, as will be understood'upon reference to "Fig. 5. These hooks ar'eof graduated length; as

shown clearly in Fig. ("n and are each adapted to engage over a lug or projection 22 on the upper side of the respectiveturning arm so that-the arm will be helda'gainst movement, as showninFig. ,5. To the rear ends of the several, hooks 2t areattached the upper ends of connecting rods 23 which have their lower ends engaged with the outer ends of cranks 24 on the rear ends of rock shafts 25 which are journalcd on the under side of the base plate 1 and are equipped at their front ends with handle levers 26. Theserock shafts 25 are held to the base plate 1 by bearing brackets or keepers 27 of any approved-type and upon each shaft, adjacent the respective brackets, I provide lugs or projections 28 which, by engaging the sides of the bearing brackets, prevent endwise movement of the shafts and-by bearing against the underside of the base plate limit the rocking movement of the shafts so that the respective handle" may be returned to its operativeposition and normally held in that position, I provide contractile springs 29 which are attached at their opposite ends to theback plate 6 of the supporting structure and to extensions of the pivot pins connecting the cranks 24 to the respective pitmen 23, as shown in Fig. 2.

These springs will be placed under tension when. the respective handle member 6 1s rocked and when the pressure upon the handle is released the springwill' at once contract so as to return the hook to its working position. In order that thepitmen may be readily set to correspondto the height of the upper bar 10, they are. telescopic or extensible in construction with one member fitting within the alined hollow member and secured in set relation by thumb screws 30, as will be understood upon" reference to Figs. 1 and 2.

- Referring particularly to'Fig. 1, it'will be noted that the pivotal end of each turning arm is in the form of a yoke 31 spanning the several springs 19, this construction providing a wide support. for the rc-l spective arms so that they will not be apt to sag in use. Carried by the upper side of each yoke 31 area pair of spaced arms 32 which project forwardly from the yok'e'in divergent relation and one of whichis'constructed at its end to facilitate the attachment thereto of a cable 33. he other arm 32 is formed at its front free end with an arcuate guide or shoe 34 over which the respective cable 33 may pass and by which the cable will be supported, the cable being thus so disposed that a pull exerted "upon the cable'will be transmitted to the turning arm in the proper manner to easily and efiectually swing the same about the sup porting post or pintle 16. Adjacent the upper end of the pintle 16', anotch 35 is: formed in the upper edge of the frame bar 10 and in this notch are mounted grooved idle rollers or pulleys 36 about which the respective cables 33 pass so that they will be properly supported and guided to always be in operative relation to the respective turning arms.

The idlers or guide rollers are supported and separated by horizontal partitions 361 which also separate the cables and prevent them becoming entangled. At the backof the frame bar 10, the cables 33 are carried to the left of the guide pulleys 36 and each cable is attached at its end to-the upper end of a bell crank or angle lever 37, the several bell cranks or angle levers having a common fulcrum 38 and each also having connected thereto the upper end of a pitman 39. The several bell cranks or angle levers are held to the back board by a retaining loop or guidebracket 40 which is secured at its ends to the said board and extends over all the bell cranks whereby they will be maintained in upright operative position. The pitmen 39 are telescopic in construction in the same manner that the first described pitman 23 are constructed, and the lower ends of the several pitmen 39 are pivotally connected tothe upper ends of cranks 11' at the rear ends of rock shafts 42 which are mounted 011 the under side of the base plate 1 and correspond in form and arrangement to the rock shafts 25, as will be understood upon reference to Fig. 4. Each rock shaft 42is equipped at its front end with a handle member 43 which may be of any suitable approved form.

Each turing arm 18 carries a clamp 44' which is adapted to engage the upper edge or the side edge of a sheet of music sothat, when the arm is swung from one side to the other side of the device, the sheet of music will be turned. These'clasps 4 1 may be of various lengths accordingly 'as they are designed to engage the top edge or the side edge ofxa leaf and they may, of course, be disposed at the extremezends or at intermediate points in the length of the respective turning. arms. One ofthese claspsmay also be provided adjacent the post 16 to engage the inner edge of asingle sheet.

I also provide holding rods 45 which are.

carried by theulpjaer frame bar 10 and are lib adapted to engage over the backs of a music book so that the books will be held close to the supporting framev and thereby prevented from prematurely causing a leaf 'to turn. The leaf-engaging jawsof the several clasps may be of any desired form. I prefera 1 a molding strip on the top of the pianoto ployed, such clip consisting of a shank 48.

having lateral resilient fingers 49 and a loop 50 which also serves as a handle. The

shank is disposed across the upper ends of the standard and the desk 51 below the top 52, thedesk and standard being clasped by the fingers, as shown in Fig. 6.

My device is exceedingly compact and simple in the construction and arrangement of its parts and will be found highly efiicient' in use. The device will be very advantageous in outdoor renditions inasmuch asitwill effectually hold the leaves of a musical composition so that they will not be blown away and lost in the wind and the leaves may be readily turned without requiring any cessation in the playing. A single leaf or sheet may he returned to the right side of the device by manipulation of the proper rock shaft 42 or, by rocking the shaft connected with the innermost arm, all of the arms and, consequently, all the leaves of the composition may be at once returned to the right side of the device. Itwill be noted that I have illustrated three turning arms. This number, however, is merely illustrative and any desired number of arms may be provided. Very often one arm will be sufficient and the leaf turner will be furnished in such sizes and with such numbers of arms as any customers may prefer.

Having thus descri claim:

1. In a leaf turner, the combination of a leaf-supporting base, an upper frame bar supported above the said base, leaf-turning arms pivotally mounted upon the upper frame bar, and means for controlling said arms including forwardly projecting rock shaftsoperatively connected with the respective arms and mounted in bearings on the under side of the base and each provided with stop lugs arranged at the inner ends of the bearings and adapted to impinge against the base whereby to prevent endwise move ment and limit the rocking movement of the shaft.

2. In a leafturner, the combination of a supporting frame, turning arms mounted upon the frame, cranks on the back of the frame, guide pulleys at the top of the frame, means operable from the base of the frame for actuating said cranks, diverging projections on the several turning arms, and flexihle connections between the cranks and the arms whereby to swing the arms from left to right, said flexible connections being trained around the guide pulleys and each secured at one endto one of the projections on the respective arm andhaving itsportion adjacent said end passing across and supported by the other projection.

In testimony whereof I afix 'my signature.

GUSTAVE E. MEYER. [1,. 8.

bed the invention, I 

